Who can resist an old-fashioned meet-cute, especially when the setting is our lovely Green Mountain State?
The Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury has been recording Vermonters as they reminisce about falling in love and shared two of the stories with VPR.
Lara Keenan and Andrew Rash of Essex Junction
“We met in a bar,” Andrew says. “And neither of us really drink.”
“It was very ironic that we met in a bar,” Lara chimes in. “And when karaoke was happening. That’s two strikes against it ever really happening.” Lara says that she doesn’t like karaoke or drinking, so it was unlikely that they ever crossed paths at a Burlington bar.
"It was very ironic that we met in a bar. And when karaoke was happening. That's two strikes against it ever really happening." - Lara Keenan
She explains that a mutual acquaintance of theirs invited her to join him one night and she resisted for a while, finally giving in. “And I was sitting at the bar and this guy walks in the door and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, who’s that? Nice.’ I sort of locked on … like I needed to know who that was. And it was Andrew,” Lara says.
“I was going to ask you who it was,” adds Andrew, laughing. “Just to make sure we were telling the same story.” Andrew says that as a young, single man, he noticed Lara at the bar right away, and eventually they were introduced. “My takeaway from that was, ‘This girl has a strong grip and I don’t know if she’s like this with everyone,’” says Andrew.
They think the relationship stuck because they didn’t take it too seriously. “Neither one of us were looking for anyone, so we were just having fun and hanging out. That’s why I think it worked,” says Lara.
Andrew says the relationship was about as “whirlwindy” as relationships can be. “We met in the beginning of June and our first date was on June 22,” he says.
Lara interrupts, “I love that you remember all those dates.”
The two non-drinkers are both ecstatic they went out to the bar that summer night.
Madeleine and Naomi Winterfalcon of Monkton
This story also starts out in a bar. Madeleine was at Maude’s, which she says was “quite the place at the time.” She was playing pool with one of her friends when she started to feel someone staring at her.
“I turned around and there was Naomi,” she says. “With her Greek fisherman’s hat, brand new leather jacket and the most intense stare I’ve ever seen in my life.” Madeleine says she took one look at Naomi and immediately went over to say hello. “Then I didn’t know what to say after that,” she laughs.
"I turned around and there was Naomi, with her Greek fisherman's hat, brand new leather jacket and the most intense stare I've ever seen in my life." - Madeleine Winterfalcon
“I had just gotten my leather jacket and was determined to go pick up somebody, actually for the first time in my life,” says Naomi. She explains that after they met, they played pool for a while and then Madeleine left unexpectedly. “She left me there at the mercy of this very predatory lesbian who I wasn’t interested in at all,” she jokes.
Madeleine is quick to note that she had gotten Naomi’s phone number before she left – she had made sure of that. “And then I canceled two dates in a row. I had this feeling that I needed to back off for a minute or three,” Madeleine says.
"It's been 30 years. The longest one night stand we know of." - Naomi Winterfalcon
They met on a Saturday night and finally had their first date the next Wednesday. “And we’ve been together ever since,” says Madeleine.
“It’s been 30 years,” adds Naomi. “The longest one night stand we know of.”
These stories are part of a project from the Vermont Folklife Center called, "Love Chocolate, Love Stories." The stories will be heard Friday evening at the the Folklife Center in Middlebury, during a live Valentine’s storytelling event.
Correction 9:18 a.m. 3/16/15 This post originally misstated the town where Madeleine and Naomi Winterfalcon live. The women live in Monkton, not Essex Junction.
